MR73 defence

C

CRenzi

New member
So, I've found a 2.5" barrel MR73. It's a bit beaten but it's a decent price.

The only problem, as far as I can see, is the different finish of the barrel:

12.jpg


Can you tell me if that's cause for concern?

Thanks
 
Can we get a closer pic? ;)

I admittedly don't know anything about that particular gun, but judging by the overall appearance, the barrel finish wouldn't concern me. If it's a gun that interests you, at a fair price, I'd say go for it.
 
It's not common for blue guns to turn plum but it's not rare either. I've seen it happen more with Rugers but it can happen to pretty much all brands sometimes. I have an old Rem 700 with a plum bolt shroud.

I wouldn't do it but you can always get it refinished.
 
Am I the only one that thinks the barrel and cylinder match and the frame has different finish from that picture?
 
The MR73s that were manufactured in Mulhouse very often have bluing turn plum color. There is nothing wrong with it.

You can see how the hammer, trigger, and cylinder stop stud in my MR73 turned brown. That is preferrable to the HA prefix to the serial number.

 
Thanks PzGren, there is indeed a similar discoloration in the studs:

13.jpg

14.jpg


I was wondering if this was one of the guns produced with Ruger internals, but I suppose the trigger and hammer would be white while these are straw yellowish...
 
The MR73 was designed by Raymond Sassia, he was trained by the NYPD using revolvers and based on that introduced revolvers to the French GIGN. They started with S&W M19s that were special ordered, a 3" model with fixed sights. When those guns did not hold up to the heavy use, Raymond contacted Manurhin and helped them design the revolver that would be perfect for law enforcement - in his opinion. He took design features from Korth and S&W and the MR73 was born.

The French police used a lot of Ruger guns, from the Mini14 to the SP101 and eventually manufactured the MR88 in France. It is basically a Ruger SP101 with a 6 shot cylinder. That is pretty much all that there is to Ruger and Manurhin connection that I know of.
 
My $.02 opinion (and I admit if you actually paid that much you'd be over charged) is that the different coloring adds character to the gun.

I wouldn't change it.

If the gun mechanically okay and the price is okay I'd go for it.
 
Looks to me like it’s been rode hard and put away wet. A Bubba screwdriver job has tore up the screws. No big deal by itself but would make me wonder if Bubba has been into the running gears.
 
The MR73 was produced as a snubnose version in 2.25, 2.75. and 3 inches. The OP's gun looks like 2.75", a version that is not importable under the 1968 GCA. Judging by the condition I would guess that the gun is not a GIGN surplus gun and appears to be in much better condition than the surplus guns I have seen also from Portugal. I had imported a Portuguese prison guard MR88 that made the trigger characteristics of the Ruger SP101 pleasant. The MR73 is a completely different story; it is a very refined, yet durable pistol. The trigger characteristics are pleasant and allow easy adjustments, it uses the same speed loaders like the S&W K-frame.

If the above revolver passes a check, I would not hesitate to buy it.

And about French dropping their guns, or not firing them. My family were Prussian soldiers for two hundred years and my grandfather fought at Verdun, he considered the French the arch enemy and hated respected them. He did not see any American soldier in that gruesome trench war, nor did we see one at the battle of the nations, the biggest battle of all times. When I lived in Paris, I saw first hand how trigger happy the flics are.

Sorry, could not resist.
 
One of my wishlistrevolvers is the Manurhin - there are many versions and from my reading they are excellent and near to impossible to wear out. They are much better than a Python, better than (older -pre1968) S&W, and a little better than Korth.
I have Pythons, S&W, and Korth in the library.
 
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